{"id":101272,"date":"2017-08-27T16:46:55","date_gmt":"2017-08-27T16:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/27\/cease-fires-in-battle-against-isis-on-lebanon-syria-border\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:15:42","slug":"cease-fires-in-battle-against-isis-on-lebanon-syria-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/27\/cease-fires-in-battle-against-isis-on-lebanon-syria-border\/","title":{"rendered":"Cease-fires in battle against ISIS on Lebanon-Syria border"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIRUT \u2014 Cease-fires took effect Sunday in the border area between Syria and Lebanon, halting separate but simultaneous weeklong offensives against the Islamic State group by the Lebanese army on one side and Hezbollah and Syrian troops on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two sides say they have driven the militants from most of the border region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S.-backed Lebanese military, which denies coordinating its offensive with the Syrian army, said the cease-fire is to allow negotiations over the fate of several Lebanese soldiers captured by militants three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Ikhbariya, a Syrian TV station, said a Hezbollah delegation arrived in Syria to evacuate the bodies of Lebanese soldiers, but there was no official statement on the matter. Hezbollah\u2019s TV said the group is also expected to evacuate bodies of five of its own fighters killed in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebanon\u2019s defense minister said in comments to reporters that Hezbollah was carrying out the negotiations over the soldiers, who were captured in 2014 when al-Qaida and Islamic State militants briefly overran a Lebanese town near the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Syrian official news agency SANA said the area along the border would be declared free of ISIS militants soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Ikhbariya quoted an unnamed Syrian field commander as saying the militants have been driven out of some 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) in Syria. Syrian media say around 400 militants and their families are expected to be evacuated toward Deir el-Zour, a city in eastern Syria that is mostly controlled by ISIS. A Syrian military official told SANA that evacuation of ISIS militants toward Deir el-Zour negotiated by Hezbollah has been approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Central Military Media, an outlet run jointly by Hezbollah and the Syrian army, said the Sunday cease-fire, labeled the Qalamoun cease-fire deal, will pave the way for a comprehensive agreement to end the fighting in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hezbollah, which Western nations view as a terrorist organization, has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad\u2019s forces inside Syria since 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebanon\u2019s main political factions are bitterly divided over the war in neighboring Syria, and many would fiercely object to any direct cooperation with Assad\u2019s government.<\/p>\n\n\n\t